Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses a halachic requirement for inner sin offerings, such as those brought on Yom Kippur whose blood is sprinkled in the Holy of Holies: if there is a breach in the roof, the service may not be performed.
Likkutei Halakhos (Yoreh Deah, Laws of Vows 4) notes that the Succah recalls the Clouds of Glory—the Shekhina that enveloped the Jewish people in the wilderness. This is the same “cloud” that greets the Cohen Godol as he enters the Holy of Holies (Vayikra 16:2). Pri Tzaddik (Pesach 9) adds that the cloud represents concealment; even in revelation, there must remain some barrier, for man cannot experience God directly.
Symbolically, this is profound. The intimacy of the Yom Kippur service requires a “holding space,” as intimacy always does. The boundary not only protects from the outside but defines the limits of experience from within—it holds the “cloud” of obscurity within revelation. As Mishley (25:2) states, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.” A relationship must have privacy and sacred boundaries, honoring the bond both from within and without.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com